Global Toy News

Pixels and Lego; is there a connection?

Is there a link between Lego’s growing sales and computer screen pixels?  I would have never thought about it until I read a somewhat odd interview in the New York Times with a gentleman named David Cole.  It seems that Mr. Cole engages in what he calls “Lego Taxidermy”. 

The interview is really not about pixels but about his obsession (and that of many adults) with playing with Lego.  In the interview, entitled “Legos for Grown-Ups, From a Child at Heart”, he tells us that he currently has orders for 1500 of his palm size versions of mounted animal heads made out of Lego. 

What caught my attention, however, was this statement by Cole:  “I do a lot of pixel art, and there’s a lot of overlap between pixel art and Lego creation because of how low-fi and grid-based it is. All Lego pieces are on a square grid, as are pixels on a screen.”

I think that this connection between virtual and tactile could be something that has not occurred to many of us.   Perhaps the desire to play with construction and to create virtually on line may, at least in part,  both flow from the same inspiration; the love of working with small elements.  If

Breaking into the Chinese Consumer Market, Part 1: Choosing the right name

This is the first in a series of articles I will be writing on "Breaking into the Chinese Consumer Market".  This moment in history could turn out to be crucial to the success of many toy companies.  The combination of consumers with lots of cash and a government in Beijing that wants them to spend it is creating a major opportunity for those with the knowledge to do it right.  But what is doing it right? 

I have been making it my business (literally) to find that out.  Over the last few months I have been busily studying the Chinese consumer market and have carefully chosen associates in China to assist me. 

This series of postings will provide knowledge on the variouls hurdles western companies will have to overcome in succesfully entering the Chinese domestic market. In this posting, we are going to look at the power of choosing the right name, not only for your company but even your brand.

The New York Times provided a great article on just how challenging choosing a name in China can be.  Entitled “Picking Brand Names in China Is a Business Itself,” the article puts the challenge this way:

More than many nations, China is a place where names are imbued with deep significance. … Given that China’s market for consumer goods is growing by better than 13 percent annually — and luxury-goods sales by 25 percent — an off-key name could have serious financial consequences.

The picking of a name is not simply a matter of how it translates from English to Chinese.  It’s more complicated than that as China is a country with a diversity of languages (Mandarin and Cantonese among them).  A name that is pleasant or powerful in one language can mean something quite different in the other.

The article points out that there is therefore a great deal of art and science that goes into picking a name.  If the brand is already know in China, Foreign companies can choose to phonetically change their name to Chinese and in so doing also give their brand name a meaning that resonates with the Chinese.  For example, the article tells us that Tide detergent, Taizi, not only sounds similar to the original name but

What's in a name? Everything these days!

 

 

 

          You’ve heard about social media and you’re ready to join the game. When you’re setting up your names or “handles” on Facebook page and Twitter page,  YouTube and others, make sure your names are as close to your exact business name as possible and try not to add funny extras like underscore or dashes or extra words. Those just make finding you in an online search harder. If someone else already has your company name, that’s a problem.

           A very public example of a huge company making a giant mistake in this regard was Netflix. They had already angered their customer base with a big price increase and blew off the millions of customers who aired their rage on the company’s Facebook page for all to see. They stated that these customers were a small group and not representative of most customers. Their stock price plummeted. Netflix recently decided to separate its streaming video business and give it a new name, Qwikster. Problem was, the company evidently didn’t check on Twitter to see if that name was already taken…if they did, they would have found that it was controlled by a potty-mouthed dude whose icon was a weed-smoking Elmo. Not kidding! You’d think the company would have learned its mistake after the Facebook lambasting it took just weeks before. The curiosity seekers wanted to see what was up with the original Qwikster so his followers went from a few hundred to 9,100 in a day or two! Netflix quickly abandoned the new business name. Want to read more about this business debacle? Click here to see an article in The Atlantic by Megan McArdle. 

         Okay, now you’ve signed up for these key accounts. You need to make it easy for people to find and follow you on them. Make links to them in your email signature so every recipient can click and follow easily. (If you don’t know how to create links and use Windows product like Outlook and Word, just highlight the words you want to link to like I’ve done in this article, right-mouse click and choose Hyperlink, and type a link or URL in the address window at the bottom, or find the link you want on the Internet and copy and paste the URL in your browser into the Hyperlink address window. It’s easy!) Also get the little icons from each of these companies and post them on the home page of your site. Then visitors to your site can follow you through these mediums, especially if you had to modify your name on these pages at all from your company name. To get started, check out pages of others in the business that you know or admire and see who they are following, and follow them too! But stay relevant! You are known by the company you keep, even online.

Lisa Orman founded her virtual business, KidStuff Public Relations, 18 years ago, when AOL was the only email service and the internet was a baby. Connect with her on her company blog at www.kidstuffpr.com/blog, on Facebook, Twitter, or subscribe to her Youtube channel.

 

 

 

 

The Third Reich: A new “game novel” by Roberto Bolano

Despite an earnest effort to learn Spanish while in College, I am still, for all extents and purposes, not able to read works in Spanish.  Because of that I am not up to date on Spanish literature until it appears in English translation.   

It is for that reason alone that I did not include Roberto Bolano’s novel The Third Reich in my Top 10 List of Books in the Game Genre.  So why am I talking about it now, because the book, originally published in 1989, has just been issued in an English translation by Natasha Wimmer.

Here is how The New York Times describes the plot in its review, "Roberto Bolano Plays With History" :

The narrator and chief noncharacter in the novel is ... a German war games champion, on holiday in Spain with his lovely ...girlfriend, Ingeborg. They meet … a Spanish-speaking burn victim… For the whole of the latter part of the book Udo and this man... are playing a lengthy war game called Third Reich…[Udo]  lingers in his hotel room setting up and refining his game, which is effectively a fighting and refighting of World War II with dice and markers and an elaborate board.

Mary Couzin; Global Toy News Person of the Year 2011

2011 inaugurates the first annual awarding of the “Global Toy News Person of the Year”.  This award will be given to the person who has done the most over the last year to make the greater toy industry a stronger, more enjoyable and far more prosperous place to work. 

This year’s winner is Mary Couzin, President and Founder of the Chicago Toy and Game Group.  Mary has created a series of toy industry events in November that have provided the platform for the creation of new intellectual property, additional profits and revenue for an industry that has badly needed it.  Mary (with some help from her friends) has for the most part achieved this all on her own.

Mary’s work in 2011 has been the culmination, but by no means the end, of years of labor.  Mary began her efforts in 2003 with the creation of the Chicago Toy and Game Fair which this year drew over 20,000 people.  Its purpose is to create a venue in which toy manufacturers can, without having to filter through retailers, get to meet their consumers face to face.  By doing so, they are able to experience what has turned out to be one huge focus group. 

In addition, the event affords an opportunity for consumers to meet the inventors who create the toys and games they have grown to love.  As a result, Mary has created a happening in which inventors have star status and manufacturers learn how to make better products.  Visited by thousands each year, this event has helped create new jobs, new stars and a great deal of additional revenue. 

Part of the ChiTAG Fair is the Young Inventor Challenge, a chance for children to invent toys and games and show them to the public as well as the toy and game industry. This year there were over 150 children from the United States and abroad. The senior category winner this year received licensing agreement from a toy company.

Mary didn’t stop there and in 2008 inaugurated T&G Inventor Con (The Toy & Game Inventor Conference with Social Media at Play and the Inventor Summit).  This year, drawing over 250 attendees from all over the world, these events bring industry people, bloggers, the media, and most important of all, aspiring toy and game inventors, together in one place at tone time.   Most important of all, new inventors have been “discovered” and the industry has benefited with new sources of great products. 

This year saw the addition of The Toy & Game Professional Inventor Summit.  This event allows established inventors to meet with toy and game companies and show their new creations in a secure and convenient environment.  In turn, it allows companies to present inventors with their ‘wish lists.’  This is great for both the inventors and the companies as it is time efficient and saves travel costs.  Even more importantly, inventors can’t get everywhere so toy companies get to look at new concepts they may never have seen.  Some feel that this may actually turn out to be Mary’s most important contribution.

Gender and toys from one angry little girl's perspective

 

 

 

Take a minute and watch this extraordinarily poised (and cute) little girl go after the toy companies over the seperation between girls toys and boys toys...and don't get her started on the color pink.  A special thank you to Toni Antonetti of PRChicago for sending me this.

 

 

Cash Mobs; A new way to promote local retailers

Local retailers (and you too ASTRA) take note, the “Cash Mob” may just be the next marketing innovation.  “Cash Mobs"  are like “Flash Mobs” but with a purpose…to drive people to support local businesses. 

A “Flash Mob” is defined by Wikipedia as “… a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression. Flash Mobs are organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails."

Toys - providing Comfort & Joy

The holidays have a way of encouraging us to turn our thoughts to kinder, gentler, more comforting things.  But those things that bring us peace and calm and joy are not just needed at holiday time.  From our early childhood and throughout our lives, we crave tangibles that provide comfort and security. Our favorite toys play an important role in meeting this emotional and physical need.  A familiar toy to hold or cuddle when scared, lonely, or uncertain, can provide reassurance through even the darkest moments. 

Toys have been used to console individuals during the toughest emotional and physical situations:  when traumatized by natural disasters, frightened, distressed or sad, for a sense of security, to alleviate separation anxiety, during sickness and transitional situations. Toys have also been helpful in reducing agitation or distress and improving communication problems in the elderly suffering with Alzheimer’s. Autistic children benefit immensely from interaction with toys.  A couple of years ago, my team developed a toy with a sound-activated, interactive light-up feature.  Shortly after the toy was released, we received a letter from an autistic child’s physician.  He wrote that the child had just spoken his first full sentence as a result of playing with our toy. 

An article posted on Chopsy Baby Parenting News, September 26, 2011, says “studies have shown that over 70% of children in the western world become attached to a particular toy or blanket. It is believed that this is more prevalent in the western world because western children tend to sleep separately from their parents from a much earlier age. The toy can carry the smell of their mother and their familiar texture offers almost immediate comfort.”

COMING NEXT WEEK: GLOBAL TOY NEWS PERSON OF THE YEAR

Top 10 Global Toy News Articles of 2011

It is fascinating to go back and see which blog postings got the most readership this year.  Those of you who have been reading us will be interested to see what your fellow readers found interesting.  Those who are new to Global Toy News might find these interesting to read now.

So, based upon your visits, these are the top 10 postings of 2011 with number 1 being the most read:

1.    The 2011 Target Toy Catalog; a gender critique  Richard Gottlieb

2.    My Top 10 List of Toys with “Play Power”  Richard Gottlieb

3.    Manufacturing your products in the USA; Hasbro steps up with a domestic contract manufacturing service  Richard Gottlieb

4.    Neil Friedman, Toys R Us and what it may really mean  Richard Gottlieb

5.    When Games Explode; Part III of III: The Tipping Point Rob Bartel

Don't just google at social media, embrace it

 

   

 

         Unbelievably, many toymakers do not have a website yet. And of those who do, many have just a very barebones site that is of minimal use to their B2B customers or consumers. And still more do not have a company Facebook (FB) page (called public fan page) or Twitter account. Many use a personal FB page and think that’s good enough. It’s not. (Not to say you can’t use a personal FB page for some B2B correspondence, but your company name, FB page and Twitter handle are for brand building so it is imperative that it be handled professionally and include your company name.)

       I realize the toy business is tough, constantly evolving and getting more expensive and complicated. Making a living in this business can be exhausting, but that’s no excuse to stand by and not react to these seismic changes. These trends are here to stay and will only become more important and more entrenched in consumers’ buying habits.

       I really admire the people I’ve noticed lately who plunged ahead and got involved and dabbled in social media to see how it works and feels despite all the other constraints on their time.

       The good news for small and mid-sized toy businesses is that they have an advantage in social media because a genuine, passionate and knowledgeable voice rises above the online clutter, and no one knows more about a company/product/store than the owner. This is the perfect opportunity to connect directly with customers and educate them, and in turn, to learn from them.

     

       The biggest firms have long understood the importance of social media, but their size essentially forces them to hire a director of social media to handle the job. They’re approaching online communications in a mass way, just like they do with their advertising.

Cincinnati's Game & Toy Industry Professionals Holiday Gift Guide

WGN Radio kindly had me as a guest the other day talking about why Santa comes to Chicago for his ideas (so many toy and game inventors here). Well, Cincinnati is another one of his favorite stops and Michelle Spellman did an amazing thing – she put together a catalog for the public of toys and games invented in Cincinnati – The Cincinnati Game & Toy Industry Professionals Holiday Gift Guide! Some of you know Michelle through a game she and her husband Jeff invented, Jukem Football, which is selling quite well in the stores and receiving a lot of media buzz. But Michelle is an incredible force of energy and sunk deeper into our industry, she put together a group of Cincinnati toy/game industry people that meet regularly and then the Gift Guide. I asked Michelle to tell us how it all came about and came together.

Michelle: The Cincinnati Game & Toy Industry Professionals is a networking group that lives primarily on Linkedin.  It was started in June, 2010 and now has more than 200 members. 

When I entered the toy and game industry four years ago, I wanted to connect with other people in the space to learn and find the resources I needed to get my company off the ground.

I discovered that there were a surprising number of toy industry veterans flying under the radar, doing all kinds of jobs in the Cincinnati region.  As many of you know, Kenner Toys was here in Cincinnati for nearly 50 years, before being acquired and subsequently moving to Hasbro’s Rhode Island headquarters in 2000.  When Hasbro left town, many people thought the toymakers left too.  But as it turns out, they didn’t.

A large number of former (Kenner) Hasbro employees remained here.  Many left the toy business and took positions in other industries.  But many others continue to work as independent designers, inventors, consultants, agents, and provide other professional services to toy companies all over the world.

In addition, the University of Cincinnati’s Design Art and Architecture Program (DAAP) has a long history of producing accomplished toymakers who produce toys for numerous evergreen brands such as Star Wars, Nerf, Barbie, Hotwheels and many, many more.

What Makes a Good Toy? Let the Experts Decide!

What makes a good toy?   

There is no simple answer and there are many different philosophical stances that people take. For some, a good toy is "green" first and foremost. Some people disdain plastic and prefer toys made of wood. Others do not like toys that are promoted on TV and shop instead in specialty stores for products that are not mass-marketed. I would suggest that kids, of course, don’t care about these things.           

Many do not like their children to play with any form of gun, toy weapon, or other "violent" toy. Some do not want their children, their daughters in particular, to play with Barbie-type dolls or pink toys. Other parents may not want their boys to play with dolls and other gentler and more nurturing products.      

Many people hated the Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids, though for somewhat different reasons, but kids loved them. Some parents hate toys that require batteries or leave a mess. But kids love them, as well. What kid doesn’t love slime or Play Doh?             

JAKKS, Li & Fung and Tomy; Top 11 Top Toy Industry Stories of 2011 Part 3 (Numbers 3 – 1)

This is the third part in a series I have been doing on the Top 11 Toy Industry Stories of 2011.  Click here to see numbers 11-8 and here to see numbers 7-4.

3.         Oaktree and Jay Foreman go after JAKKS

Jay Foreman is a hit maker.  He is responsible for the Hannah Montana, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber dolls along with a long list of other hits.  He sold his company, Play Along, to JAKKS in 2004, stayed there for a few years and then started his new company, The Bridge, in 2008.  Well, Jay is back and he wants to buy JAKKS.  He’s not kidding around either, he has Oaktree Capital backing his efforts. 

The JAKKS management, however, is not so keen on the idea.  In fact they rejected a $20 per share offer back in September of this year.  As of December 20, 2011 it was going for $13.75 per share.

If Jay Foreman does manage to take JAKKS over he will take it private and certainly replace the management team.  These moves will have an impact on the individuals involved, the retail community and those who compete with JAKKS for intellectual property and sales. 

2.         Li & Fung acquires Technosource

Hong Kong based Li & Fung is one of the world’s most important players in the global toy industry.  With almost 27,000 employees and almost $16 Billion in 2010 sales, Li & Fung plays a key role in sourcing, designing, delivering and producing loads of consumer products, textiles and importantly for those of us reading this, toys.

So, when Li & Fung announced the  purchase of Technosource back in March of this year it was big news.  Suddenly this mid-tier company known for its talent and at least one big hit (Rubik’s Revolution) suddenly had deep, and I mean deep, pockets.

McDonalds and Bryan Stockton; Top 11 Top Toy Industry Stories of 2011 Part 2 (Numbers 7 – 4)

In my last posting, I started my list of the Top 11 Toy Industry Stories of 2011 with numbers 11-8.  Revealed David Letterman style (in reverse order), these are what I see as the stories that had the biggest impact on the broader toy industry.  Today we continue with numbers 7-4. 

7.         Layaway

Ask Target if they think that Wal-Mart’s decision to offer layaway this year made a difference.  Announced in early September, Wal-Mart’s decision to provide layaway this year put them in the same boat with Toys R Us and Kmart who offered it last year as well.  The difference this year, however, is that it seems to have helped Wal-Mart beat Target’s brains in on the toy aisle.  How bad was it, well take this quote from the December 17, 2011 Wall Street Journal:  “Target Corp. blamed its lack of a layaway program for its slow toy sales at the season's outset. "Wal-Mart's layaway program has certainly hurt us in November," Kathee Tesija, Target's executive vice president for merchandising…”

6.    Toys R Us hires Neil Friedman as President of its Us Division

Toys R Us’s announcement in April that Neil Friedman’s was to be its new President was a shot across the bow for all manufacturers and retailers.  Neil’s experience in retailing and manufacturing marks him as a double threat.  What is of note is Neil’s reputation as, to quote Toys R Us CEO Jerry Storch, “a product man” means that Toys R Us is serious about producing more of its own private label products.  That means competition for manufacturers and retailers. 

He-Man and the Masters of the 30 Minute Toy Commercial

We began a Changing the Way We Play series before our ChiTAG events with Brian Torney's article Changing The Way We Play – Star Wars Collectables (1977) Part 1 and now we continue with Sam Wells of Kunoichi. 

Sam is another talented industry colleague and play expert. We worked with him on our Social Media at Play Conference this year. He spent seven years in comics publishing assuming many different roles ranging from editor to publisher to designer and occasionally writer.  He’s the owner and main contributor to Toydejour.com, an off-beat toy review blog that has been giving unsolicited opinions and weird photos since 2007.

From Sam...

Every so often a product comes along and changes the way we play.

Take a look at any major selling toy line on the shelves today (Transformers, Power Rangers, My Little Pony, etc.) and you’ll see at only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to that brand.  Resting just beneath the water is a massive structure of support for each toy line comprised of comics, video games, trading cards, websites and a slew of crazy miscellaneous licensed products.  All are necessary to keep that brand above water, so to speak. But at the very base of this now hard-to-maintain iceberg metaphor you’ll find cartoons. The very soul of any branded toy line is the story told in animated series, and in recent years it’s become quite blurred whether the toys are a means to promote the shows, or if the shows are a means to promote the toys.  But it hasn’t always been that hard to define. 

Top 11 Top Toy Industry Stories of 2011 Part 1 (Numbers 11 – 8)

What were the big news stories for the toy industry in 2011?  In order to construct my list, I went to my friend Phil Bloom who publishes The Bloom Report.  No one, and I mean no one, follows the toy industry news like Phil so, not surprisingly,  he was able to provide me with  50 stories he felt merited the title of Top Story.

I took his list, added a few of my own, and then ranked the top 11 in order.  My basis for ranking was this question: “How big an impact did this event have an impact on the greater toy industry?”  So why are there 11 instead of 10?  Well because when it came down to it, there were 11 that merited the title of top news story and not 10. 

In David Letterman style, I am starting from the lowest (#11) and working my way up to number 1.  So, here are numbers 11 – 6:

11.        Spin Master and Hasbro employee cutbacks

            Any time a toy industry company cuts payroll it’s an important story because it means that some of our friends in the industry are out of work.  In November, Spin Master laid off 20% of its workforce in Los Angeles, Toronto and Asia.  In May, Hasbro announced that it was doing away with 75 positions in Massachusetts and in October laid off an additional 180 people until the end of January 2012.  All things considered, not bad for an industry as big as we are in an economy that remains weak.  Never-the-less, very unfortunate for those who lost those jobs. 

10.        Toys R Us does not complete IPO

            This is the one story on the list that is noteworthy for what didn’t happen.  We have all been waiting for Toys R Us to complete its IPO and go public but we are going to have to wait a while longer as the company announced a postponement in April.  Once Toys R Us does go public it is going to have much deeper pockets and it will be interesting to see what they do with those additional assets both in the US and outside. 

Do Toy Departments and Toy Stores Need to Be Color Coded?

 

                Boys and Girls Department Signs In Wal-Mart

As a follow up to my blog posting on Hamleys Toy Store in London and its decision to go gender neutral I have been looking at reactions from the public and commentators.  If you missed that posting, I wrote that Hamleys had decided to do away with pink and blue signs and replace them with signs that are white with red lettering.   In addition, they had reorgainzed the  toys toy-type rather than  by gender.

As you can imagine, there were some extreme views expressed on both sides of the issue but there was also some light shed on the subject.  For example, one of the reactions from those who object was that consumers would not know where to look if the departments were no longer color coded with pink for girls and blue for boys. 

High tech (High Toy?) predictions for the next 10 years

As we come to the end of the year, it’s interesting to see what “experts” are predicting about the future.  After all, we in the toy industry are on the delivery end of Moore’s Echo which says that what is cutting edge technology is a toy in 7 years, 5 years and less.  So, smart people in the toy industry need to keep their eye on what is coming down the road. 

With that in mind, below are some predictions I found in the December 13, 2011 New York Times.  I chose the ones that are predicted to occur within the next 10 years. 

Before we look at them we need to remember that predictions can be amazingly right on and amazingly off target.  Take for example the above picture of fast food in the year 2000 as predicted in the year 1910. 

So, with that in mind, let’s look at the predictions:

Part 5: Teena Teenie



Part 1:  Teena Teenie

Part 2:  Teena Teenie

Part 3:  Teena Teenie

Part 4:  Teena Teenie

Zeroing in on social media

 

 

 

       The toy industry has a huge opportunity to make a very big difference in their companies’ success in a very short time--with very little effort and expense.

       The news gets even better for small or mid-size companies that can often react quicker to important trends than their big competitors. The key is that everyone in the industry has to change their attitudes about the concept of social media, right now. Not tomorrow. Today!

       Forgive my candor, but it’s my job to devour everything being written and talked about regarding “how to get the word out” about toymakers, juvenile gear manufacturers, and toy retailers. I consider it all and think about how to incorporate the latest thinking and trends for my clients and their images.

       Everything I read and hear (and conferences I’ve attended and spoken at) tells me companies can’t afford to be an ostrich and stick their heads in the sand and say they’ll deal with the whole concept of social media and bloggers later. They are leaving important customers, opportunities and money on the table; rest assured the competition isn't leaving it for another day.

       I just don’t get people who say, “Do I really have to do this Facebook and Twitter thing?” or “I have a website, isn’t that enough?” or worse “online retailers sell my stuff, isn’t that enough of an online presence?”

       I’ve got a fire lit under me because I just read “ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth,” by Jim Lecinski, managing director of sales & service for Google. It is a must-read for anyone in business and especially those in the toy business. And it’s free! Plus it’s only 60 pages of incredible and digestible wisdom and tips. It can be downloaded in many formats, including the various e-readers and tablets, the phone, or as a PDF to print if you’re old-school.

       Why especially toys? Because toys are sold to moms. And moms are more likely to go online than other consumers, especially to research toys or other items before buying and experiencing the ZMOT, said Lecinski. ZMOT is “that moment when you grab your laptop, mobile phone or some other wire device and start learning about a product or service you’re thinking about trying or buying,” he writes.

       I've witnessed it firsthand hundreds of times with mom bloggers and their readers; with Facebook comments and Tweets on Twitter; and hearing from my clients how powerful word-of-mouth through social media can be in building a brand and driving sales.

       I am 110% convinced toymakers and sellers have to provide content moms are searching for on the Internet and to engage them, right away, if you’re not already.

Lisa Orman founded her virtual business, KidStuff Public Relations, 18 years ago, when AOL was the only email service and the internet was a baby. Connect with her on her company blog at www.kidstuffpr.com/blog, on Facebook, Twitter, or subscribe to her Youtube channel.

 

 

 

Important Survey on Global Icons for Packaging

I am working with The Toy Research Institute (AIJU) on a worldwide research project involving the use of one global set of icons to be used on packaging.  We would like you to help us by filling out a survey.  By doing so you will help us determine the level of interest in a global set of icons and if so which icons are most relevant.  It's short so it  will literally only take a few minutes.   You can access the survey by clicking here.

Why a universal set of icons? Because a one set of icons will allow us to cut down on the use of language and thereby reduce the need for different packages for different countries. 

Is there a problem with the current icons?  Yes,it appears there is as there are currently over 400 different icons in use.  For example, the Toy Research Institute found that there are currently 20 different icons being used to indicate that a toy requires batteries. 

So, please help the global toy industry and your own company by taking a few minutes to fill out this survey.  Please click here  to take the survey.

Big Story: Hamley’s, the world’s biggest toy Store, goes gender neutral

Whether Hamley’s is the world’s biggest toy store is open to debate, but this London based, seven story behemoth, certainly is in competition for the honor.  One could anticipate that this 130 year old company would be too conservative to change  the way it markets toys but that is not the case.  It has gone gender neutral.

According to Toys n’ Playthings: “… after pressure from feminist groups, the toy store has had to change its signage. Now the signs are white with red lettering. In addition, the toys have been reorganized by toy-type rather than the gender which is traditionally expected to play with it.”

I have long felt that any changes in how we market and merchandise toys will have to start at retail.  Who thought it would be one of the world’s oldest toy stores that will lead the way.  It appears that the changes were either the result of a campaign by a blogger named Laura Nelson or Hamley’s own decision that its current signage was confusing.  After reading several articles on the subject, it looks to me that despite Hamley’s protestations, they were pushed by what appears to have been an aggressive campaign against what Nelson calls “gender apartheid” in the toy department.

I checked out Nelson’s BlogSpot, Delilah, and there I found a summary of the letter she had sent to Hamely’s and what she says caused the changes.  She says that she:

• Requested they categorize toys by interest (type of toy), not by gender
• Pointed out that on the girls’ floor, the toys are focused on domestic, caring and beauty activities and the boys’ floor is geared to action and war, with little scope for creativity (arts and crafts)

Part 4: Teena Teenie

Part 1:  Teena Teenie

Part 2:  Teena Teenie

Part 3:  Teena Teenie

 

You can’t wrap an EBook; what the toy industry can learn from the book industry

There was an interesting piece in today’s New York Times entitled:  “E-Books, Shmee-Books:  Readers Return to the Stores.”  It appears that hard cover book sales at the traditional bricks and mortar retailers are up this shopping season.  Here is how the article puts it: 

Barnes & Noble, the nation’s largest bookstore chain, said that comparable store sales this Thanksgiving weekend increased 10.9 percent from that period last year. The American Booksellers Association, a trade group for independents, said last week that members saw a sales jump of 16 percent in the week including Thanksgiving, compared with the same period a year ago.

The article offers up a few reasons for the resurgence: Former Borders shoppers are finding new places to buy their books; there are a number of great non-fiction titles available and higher priced books are selling this year.   

I think those are certainly strong reasons for the increase.  I think the reason the author, Julie Bosman, missed, however,  was that you can’t wrap a book that you download.  It's no fun buying your brother-in-law the electronic version of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.  After all, how do you hand him that on Christmas morning?

Yehuda Berlinger's "Ten Most Important Games Ever"

We have gotten a great number of comments on my Top 10 List of Toys and Games in History (See Part 1 and Part 2).  One of those was from the hightly respected Yehuda Berlinger who has written about board games and ludology for eight years. Yehuda wrote me that he had independently created his own list in 2007 so I asked him if we could print it.  He agreed so please read it and see  how it compares with mine.

Just so you know, Yehuda designs games, consults as a game designer, and organizes a weekly game group. He has worked professionally for more than twenty years as a UNIX systems administrator, a web programmer, and a technical writer. He is now 42 years old and lives in Raanana, Israel with his two children. He blogs at http://jergames.com and http://purplepawn.com .

Yehuda Berlinger

Please note that I didn't say the best games ever created, the most influential games, or the most famous game moments.

When trying to evaluate the most "important" game moments, you have several possible interpretations. For instance, when a Chess event changes the world, which is more important: that event, or the key game before it that allowed the event to happen?

Like every grade you earn in school that keeps you from failing, or every link in a chain, all the key games that happened before the event took place were critical games, unless the event would have happened anyway, perhaps with different players or a different game.

1. 776 BC, The Olympics Begin

Sports events precipitate the movement of billions of dollars worth of money every year, maybe trillions. Not to mention all the people whose lives are affected by these events: wars put on hold, international cooperation, hopes ruined, inspiration shared, and so on.

There have been important political or inspirational sports moments throughout history: Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics comes to mind.

But the grand-daddy game of all was the first game to inspire all the rest of them, and that was the first race of the first Olympics.

The BBC writes: "According to legend, the Olympics started in 776BC with a single race, a 192-metre dash held at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia. Then, a runner named Koroibos sprinted ahead of the field to become the first Olympic champion."

2. 638 AD, Chess Is Approved

Chess has done more than simply influence every game since. It has also changed the way we look at the world. We have so adopted it's metaphor into our culture that our most basic political and military maneuvers are influenced by, described as, and mocked as games of Chess.

Chess began a century earlier, but it needed the approval of the forces in sway to spread. Without that approval, it's possible that Chess would have submerged again for several hundred more years.

In 638, The Caliph Omar either observed a game of Chess or played one; I don't know which. Either way, that game was the inspiration for him to sanction chess among the Islamic people. From them, it spread to the rest of the world.

Spin Master, toy spy planes and the Pentagon

As those who read me frequently know, I am fascinated by Moore’s Echo, the law that states that whatever is cutting edge technology will be a toy in 7 years.  Why, because the line between what is a toy and what is “real” is getting narrower and narrower.  In addition, those 7 years keeps coming down.

That really came home this week when I found an article in the Examiner entitled “Flying Toys with Video Cameras”.  The article speaks about the growing number of toy spy planes.  It seems that toy as well as hobby & craft  companies are mounting highly effective video cameras in remote control, miniature airplanes and helicopters.   Here is how the article puts it:

Today's commercial toys have just recently caught up with the camera-in-the-sky craze. The 'air hogs' series of model aircraft began the trend last year with its 'eagle eye' helicopter, enabling kids to conduct covert surveillance the house with a remote control platform which only five years ago would have seemed like science fiction

Part 3: Teena Teenie

Part 1:  Teena Teenie

Part 2:  Teena Teenie

Hispanic Women Come of Age

There are now more Hispanic women living in the United States (25 million) than the entire population of Australia (22.5 million).  According to an interesting article in The New York Times, “Marketers, and Media Companies, Set Their Sights on Latin Women,” 8 million of these women are born in the US and are over 18.  That means that they are in most cases bilingual and bicultural.

Are we as an industry actively advertising in any of these magazines?  If not, maybe we should.

Here is why:  According to the article, while ad spending for ink on paper magazines has gone down, spending for magazines that cater to the Hispanic market has gone up.  “People en Español, the Spanish-language version of People magazine published by Time Inc., had a 35 percent increase in ad revenue.”  The article mentioned several magazines servicing this market: Latina Magazine, People en Espanol, Cosmopolitan en Espanol, Siempre Mujer.  What struck me in reviewing these magazines was how sophisticated they were.  These readers are smart and sophisticated.

Part 2: Teena Teenie

For part 1 of Teena Teenie click here:  Part 1:  Teena Teenie

Are Wal-Mart and Toys R Us having problems managing layaway?

We need  your feedback.  We are hearing, strictly anecdotally, that Wal-Mart and Toys R Us may be struggling to manage the big response to their layaway programs.  Again, this is strictly anecdotal but here is what we are hearing:

1.     Some stores have stopped taking layaway because there is no more room in the back rooms.

2.    Some stores are having difficulty getting inventory out of the backrooms because they are stuffed with layaway.

3.     Some vendors are complaining that their goods are not getting to the floor.

Here is what we find confusing.  We understand that Wal-Mart is warehousing its layaway in multiple containers behind the stores.   (We wonder how they find your layaway when you are ready to pick up.)  If that is the case why would there be a problem in the backrooms? 

Monopoly: An American Icon

 

 

 

How much is the standard amount of money in a Monopoly game? How long could you hang upside-down and play a game of Monopoly? What did people insert into Monopoly Game boards smuggled into POW camps during World War II? Answers to these questions are featured in Monopoly: An American Icon a display that opens next week at the National Museum of Play at The Strong. Rare and historic versions of Monopoly tell the surprising story of one of America’s favorite games. Growing up, I associated Monopoly with financial independence and patience—two things I lacked. However, I loved the intricate pewter Dumbo piece in my Disney Monopoly set. And who wouldn’t want to put a stake in the Princes’ palaces across the board, or cozy up in tiny cottages? Today, I associate this game with good story and for more than a century, Monopoly’s exhibited numerous plot twists.

Teena Teenie, Part 1

Baby Blues, syndicated by King Features,  is a daily comic strip by Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman that intrigues me with its ability to, among other things, provide the toy industry with feedback that is both on point and really funny.  Last month we ran a week of strips featuring Ick Baby!, a doll that engaged in projectile vomiting (the doll had been mistakenly set on “Turbo Barf”). 

Wal-Mart set to crush Target in December on the toy aisle

If you think that Wal-Mart’s toy sales are looking a lot stronger than Target’s this year wait until December.  Wal-Mart is going to clobber Target and here is why:  Layaway. 

First, for those unfamiliar with how Layaway works here is a good definition from our friends at Wikipedia:

Layaway is a way to purchase an item without paying the entire cost at once. However, rather than taking the item home and … the layaway customer does not receive the item until it is completely paid for...If the transaction is not completed, the item is returned to stock and the customer's money is returned minus a fee.

Wal-Mart, unlike Kmart and Toys R Us, did not provide a lay away option last year.  This year they did and it is going to have a major impact on other retailers and particularly Target.  Here is why:  A great number of Wal-Mart customers chose the lay away option this year and for that reason sales that might have been reported in October or November will be reported in December instead.

Why the shift, because in the past, a shopper would have to purchase high demand toys early (September, October or November) in order to get them before they ran out.  With Layaway, many of those same shoppers were able to make sure they got the product they wanted but not have to pay for it until they picked it up.   The deadline for pickup in Wal-Mart is December 16.  (By the way, you don’t want to visit a Wal-Mart on the 16^th; it is going to be crazy).

Intra-preneurs - How to Harness the Power Within

Can big corporations not have leaders? The largest toy companies are managed, not led, by competent managers, not dynamic leaders. 

If a product falls behind three weeks in the development cycle, the designers in the trenches inform management to push the intro back a year and risk losing the entire thing. 

This was not the case at Tyco years ago where the charismatic Dick Gray would let his people know in no uncertain terms - they either get it done or he would find someone that would.     

Toy Industry Foundation makes the Today Show

The Toy Industry Association's charitable arm, the Toy Industry Foundation, has been, for some years now, doing a terrific job of providing toys to kids in need.  Whether it's children who have experienced traumatic events (floods, storms and more); are disadvantaged or who have parents away with the military, the TIF is there to help. 

While in Washington DC last month, I had an opportunity to see the TIF in action.  It was really quite an experienc seeing, in this case disadvantaged children, receiving toys.  One little girl who received a stuffed animal gave it the biggest hug and had the most biatific smile I have ever seen.

So, check out this video of Jean Butler, the TIF Director, with the Today Show's Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.  Also, check out Jean's cow sidekick.  Great job Jean.

Click on the link below to see Jean Butler, the Toy Industry Foundation and the cow on the Today Show.

Download Jeanbutler_todaynbcnational_112911_10a

  

Consumer 3D Printing; Manufacturing’s Big Bang?

As many of you know, I am fascinated by the prospect of in home 3D printing and what it could mean for the toy industry.  No longer would you have to make an action figure in China, put it on a container ship, ship it to the US, transship it to a warehouse, ship it again to a retail outlet and hope a consumer finds and buys it.  Instead, you would be able to sell a download right to a consumer who would in turn print it out in the comfort of his or her own bed or living room.  It would be our industry’s version of the iPod or Netflix.

How does a 3-D printer work?  The printer sprays liquid plastic out of an ink jet type device.  By doing so, it builds up a 3 dimensional object by adding layers that in turn dry.  Use a program to tell the printer what to make and you can make anything from a toy car to a cork screw. If you want to see the potential, visit Thingiverse where you will find thousands of downloads that are available right now.

If you find this subject interesting and are wondering about 3 D Printing’s imminence as well as what complexities might arise from its arrival, you may want to read a great article:  “Disruptions: the 3-D Printing Free for All.” 

Part 2 - My Top 10 List of Games and Toys in History (6 through 10)

I
n my last posting, I began my list of the Top 10 Games and Toys in History by listing numbers 1-5.  Today we continue with numbers 6-10.Again, they are in no particular order.  Please give us your feedback.  What have I missed and what should I have left out?  So here you go:

6.   Ping Pong Diplomacy

Most of the world today knows China as an economic powerhouse.  Prior to 1971, however, it was a country that was cut off to much of the rest of the world and recovering from the Cultural Revolution, a student movement that had created several years of havoc for its citizens.  It was, however, a series of ping pong games between China, a ping pong power (I like the way that sounds don’t you?) and the US that softened relations and set the stage for former President Nixon’s famous trip to China and the subsequent normalization of relations. 

7.   “Aces and Eights” aka the “Dead Man’s Hand”

Wild Bill Hickok was one tough gunslinger.  He was also, at times a scout, lawman and apparently a serious poker player.  Hickok’s exploits were popularized by the Eastern press so when he was killed in Deadwood, the Dakota Territory during a gunfight (he was shot from behind) the hand he was holding became famous; a pair of Aces and a pair of Eights.  It was said that they were in Clubs and Spades so the all black hand became known as a “Dead Man’s Hand.”

8.   The Ace becomes the high card

Why is it that the Ace is valued as the most powerful card in the deck when it is really the One of Hearts, Spades, Clubs and Diamonds?  Shouldn’t the King be the highest card?  Well it was until the French Revolution.  The leaders made a great effort to turn the world upside down and even renamed the months of the year.  That didn’t last but their making the one (the people) more powerful than the King they made a statement about political power that is still with us today.

Part 1 - My Top 10 List of Games and Toys in History (1 through 5)

I have in the past weeks written on the place of games ("My Top 10 List of Books, Poems and Films that Feature Games”) and toys (This Time It’s Toys; My Top 10 List of Stories and Movies that Feature Toys in culture and the arts").

This time, I have listed what I see to be the ten most significant moments for toys in history.  I have based it  upon how they impacted and / or were impacted by history.  They are in no particular order and I have broken the blog into two parts.  I have listed 1 through 5 today and 5 to 10 in my next posting.  Please give us your feedback.  What have I missed and what should I have left out?  So here you go:

1.    The Football (Soccer) War

In 1969, Honduras and El Salvador went to war over a soccer game.  The war lasted about four days and really involved some deeper issues.  It was, however, rioting over a series of soccer games between the two countries that pulled the trigger. 

 2.    The Teddy Bear  

Teddy Roosevelt unintentionally created a multi-billion dollar business and some great snuggling for kids when he refused to kill a bear tied to a tree during a hunting trip in Mississippi.  The picture had excellent political implications for Roosevelt and enhanced his reputation as a lover of freedom and defender of the defenseless.  The press picked up the story and political cartoons began appearing showing Roosevelt refusing to kill a cute baby bear.  The Ideal Toy and Novelty Company saw the potential and with Roosevelt’s permission produced “Teddy’s Bear.”  The rest is (ahem) history.

 3.    Faberge Eggs

Undoubtedly some of the most famous toys in history were the Faberge Eggs.  Peter Carl Faberge was a goldsmith with a gift for beautiful design.  He was known for making miniature Easter eggs out of rare metals and precious stones.  Tsar Alexander III had Faberge create an Easter egg for his wife which she so adored that Faberge went on to create 65 in all.  The eggs are not just beautiful but many have tiny doors with miniature crowns and other elements hidden within.  Many of them still exist and five can be seen in Richmond Virginia at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Making payments in Chinese currency; why it might be a good idea

I attended a conference this morning put on by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.  The conference featured a number of speakers in the financial arena and one of the key topics was the internationalization of the Chinese currency, the RMB. 

In the past, it has not been possible to make or take payments in RMB.  You could only pay or receive payment in Euros or dollars.  It is now possible to open a “corporate non-resident account” in Hong Kong or China; by doing so you can receive payments in RMB with no restrictions.  You can pay for goods as well but only if the company in question is on an approved government list.

As they spoke, he question that came to mind was:  "Ok, but why would I want to pay in RMB?"  The answer, according to Mr. Kok-Chi Tsim, Managing Director, Commercial Banking International, JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., is as follows:

If you are an importer you can increase transparency.  It appears that Chinese companies add a percentage when dealing in foreign currencies.  By getting a quote in RMB you can see if you are being charged more and may be able to get a better cost in the Chinese currency.

You can also secure longer agreements.  The Chinese are more likely to extend a price over a longer period of time if they do not have to be concerned with currency fluctuations.

Marbles, the Brain Store on a Roll

Marbles, The Brain Store recently sent out and posted a video promoting one of their inventors, Peggy Brown, which is part of their innovative and very successful approach to retailing toys and games. The video is joy to watch (I admit I am biased as Peggy is a friend and she mentions the TAGIEs, but I think you will agree) - Marbles Peggy Brown Interview.  

Promoting inventors aside, Marbles is a phenomenon in our industry. They opened its first store in October 2008 and has since opened five more stores in the Chicago area, three in Minnesota, and 9 more on the east coast (Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland). We filmed a commercial in their downtown Chicago store last fall on a weekday morning and it was busy… very busy. What is their secret? I caught up with Lindsay Gaskins, Marbles CEO, to find out what makes them roll.

Lindsay: “We have had a crazy year with more than doubling in store size and introducing 20 new Marbles branded products to our product line. Luckily we have a great, adaptable team and partners that are helping us grow rapidly and handle all the bumps in the road. 

Purchasing Paths: The New Family Buying Patterns

VANESSA VAN PETTEN

While attending the recent Social Media & Play Conference (SMAP) in Chicago, I was privileged to hear Vanessa Van Petten speak on the changing dynamic in how families make purchasing decisions.  I was so impressed that I asked her if she would share her insights with the Global Toy News readers.  Vanessa is one of the nation's youngest experts, or 'youthologists' on adolescents, youth and family. She now runs her popular website, RadicalParenting.com, which she writes with 120 other teenage writers to answer questions from parents and adults. Her approach has been featured by CNN, Fox News, and Wall Street Journal. She was also on the Real Housewives of Orange County helping the housewives with troubled teens. Her latest book, "Do I Get My Allowance Before or After I'm Grounded?" with Penguin/Plume USA, won the Moms Choice Award 2012. 

What happens when the modern family wants to make a new purchase? Who does the hunting, perusing and adopting of new trends? The last ten years of technological development have greatly changed family buying patterns. I work with many teens and families and love to talk to both parents and kids about their big purchases and how family dynamics interplay with buying.

Below I have listed three different family purchases and how technology has changed the traditional buying process.

1. Buying a Family Car

Today, the process often starts with Mom complaining about her old minivan, demanding something more eco-friendly and easier to park. Of course, teen son and tween daughter agree wholeheartedly and are excited for the day they do not have to be embarrassed to drive up to school in the old minivan. Teenage son does research online; he takes into account YouTube video speed tests and looks at reviews from the online version of Auto Trader. Tween daughter gets to vote on color and Mom demands the mini-screens in the backseats like she saw on a recent TV show.

2. Buying a Home Computer

Today, teenage son looks for positive and negative Amazon and CNET reviews. He might ask his friends on Facebook for suggestions before him and Dad surf the net together and order the computer online. Stores like Best Buy are slowly leaving the buying process as more and more electronics purchases are done completely online.

The Scoop on the Most Stupid Toy in the World?

You may have seen this article published in the Chicago Tribune last Thursday, November 24th, entitled "Here's the Scoop on the Most Stupid Toy in the World" by John Kass in which he blasts our Doggie Doo Game.

We did, and we felt it deserved a response:

Dear John,

I was horrified and disappointed to read your review of my game Doggie Doo in your November 24th column titled, “Here's the scoop on the Most Stupid Toy in the World.”

I think where you most completely miss the mark is in your desire to deny children the opportunity to laugh, smile, and be happy. I would say with strong conviction that flatulence and poop have made kids cut up since prehistoric times. Simply put, people enjoy playing this game and have fun, and I'm not going to apologize for that.